The present disclosure relates to a transmembrane protease, serine 4 (TMPRSS4)-specific human antibody.
It has been confirmed that transmembrane protease, serine 4 (TMPRSS4) is significantly upregulated and expressed in lung cancer, liver cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and gastric cancer and is overexpressed in most pancreatic cancer cell lines, and it has been proposed that due to its overexpression in malignant thyroid neoplasms, the gene be used as a marker for diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of these types of tumors (Kebebew E et al., Ann Surg 242(3): 353-361, 2005; Kebebew E et al., Cancer 106 (12):2592-2597, 2006).
What biological functions TMPRSS4 performs in cancer have been revealed (Jung H et al. Oncogene 17; 27 (18): 2635-2647, 2007). This study suggests that TMPRSS4 is an important mediator for invasion, metastasis, migration, and adhesion of human cancer cells and epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) in human epithelial cancer cells, and is a new potential target for cancer. Although much research has not been conducted on TMPRSS4, there is also a need for development of antibodies against TMPRSS4 as a target for cancer due to its potentialities as a strong and independent prognostic marker and as a target for inhibition of tumor invasion and metastasis.
Thus, the present inventors have selected 13 kinds of human antibodies specifically bound to TMPRSS4 expressing on the surface of a colorectal cancer cell line, confirmed that the human antibody has binding capacity similar to those of the conventional nonhuman-derived antibodies, and have made the present invention.